Starting device fob cutting torches



Dec. 30, 1941.

G. L. WALKER STARTING DEVICE FOR CUTTING TORCHES Original Filed Jan. 29, 1938 F N S.

vlilllillllllx Reissued Desi 30, 1 941 I R 1 UNITED STATES 'V'PATEFNT OFFICE-Q.

George L. Walker, Jersey City, N. 3., assignor to Air Reduction Company, Incorporated, New York, N. If a corporation of New York Original No. 2,158,489, dated May 16, 1939, Serial .No. 187,631, January 29, 1938. Application for reissue October 17, 1940, Serlal No. 362,880

This, invention relates to apparatus for presenting a rod or wire to the nozzle of a cutting torch in order to aid in such operations as the oxygen cutting of steel, tie-seaming, billet gougby a coil, spring. This cutting oxygen supply valve has an operating stem I9 that extends through the side of the torch body- A lever 20 is connected with the torch by a pivot pin 2| that passes through one end of the leverand through-a bifurcated bracket 22 fastened to the- '20 into the dotted-line position. displaces the Y stem l9 and opens the cutting oxygen valve it.

The wire or rod feeding mechanism includes 28, and the lowest part of this opening is somewhat below the top edge of the starting rod 30.

A pawl 48 in the opening 48 is of generally segmental cross-section but has a lug at its upper nd fitting into a complementary recess at the ing, billet scarilng" or skinning, flame machining 5 a tube 24 with a front rod guide 25 at one end and the like. and a rear rod guide 26 at the other end. These It is an object of this invention to provide imrod guides are secured to the tube 24', and with proved apparatus for feeding a starting rod or the tube comprise a container for a block 26 wire into the jets at the end of a cutting tip. which serves as a pawl housing. The openings More specifically, it is an object of the invention through the rod guides and 28 are in alineto provide an attachment which can be connectment with an opening 29 through the block or ed to a conventional cutting torch and operated pawl housing 28. from the same handle that controls the supply A starting wire or rod 30 extends through the of cutting oxygen to the tip. rod guides 25 and 26 and the opening 29 in the One feature 01' the invention relates to mech- .15 pawl housing'28. The diameter of the rod 30 is anism that feeds a definite'length of rod and slightly less than the diameter of the openings that does not become unreliable as the result of through which the rod passes, but there are wear. I brakes to prevent the rod from sliding too easily Since the ,starting rod must be heated before in the rod guides 25 and 28. q the cutting oxygen is turned on, it'isdesirable to 20 The brake on therod guide 25. consistsof a .feed theroH into the gas flame jets before openleaf spring 3| fastened to the outside of the rod ing the cutting oxygenvalve. Another feature guide by screws 32 and contacting with the rod of this inventionrelates to connections through 30 through a slot 38 in the top sideof the rod which the cutting oxygen control lever operates guide 25. l i the rod feed and oxygen valve successively. 25 In the rearrod guide 28 there is an opening Other objects, features and advantages of the through which a ball 35 is pressed against the invention will, appear or be pointed ,out as 'the rod Ill by a spring 26; A plug 31 threads into specification proceeds. top end of the opening that houses the spring Inthe accompanying drawing, formingga part 3o 2" and compresses the spring 38 against the ball hereof: '35.

Fig. l is a side view, partly in elevationand" A housing ill on top of the tube contains a partly in section, showing a 'cutting torch with lever ll that rocks on a pin 42 supported by the r mechanism of this invention for supplying a housing Ill. The lower end of the lever ll ex-, starting rod to the torch tip. tends into a recess in the top of the pawl hous- Fig. 2 is a detail view taken on the line 2-2 .35 ing 28 and comprises in effect a sliding block of Fig. 1. linkage so that the pawl housing and the lower The drawing shows a cutting torch Ii with at end of the lever ll move together. removable tip |2,'held in place by a tip nut i2. The pawl housing 28 is a sliding fit in the tube The tip 12 can be replaced by a smaller or larger 2t. A screw 4| threaded through the front rod tip to accommodate the torch to different work guide 25, and held in set position by a lock nut in a manner well understood in the art. The It, acts as an adjustable abutment for limiting torch has a body It, in which is located the valve) the length of the stroke of the pawl housing 2| thatcontrols the supply of cutting oxygen to in the tube 24. I the tip l2. 1 A spring 45 urges the pawl housing 28 against Thetip I2 has a central cutting jet orifice Ii the rearrod guide 26. The spring 46 is large and one or more preheating jet orifices H. The enough to allow the rod 30 to pass through it, supply of oxygen to the central cutting jet oriand the ends of the spring fit into recesses in fice I6 is controlled by a valve l8 which is urged the confronting faces of the pawl housing 28 and 1 into the closed position shown in the drawing front rod guide 25.

An opening 48 extends across the pawl housing A spring ill fitting into recesses in the pawl 49 and front wall of the opening 48 is compressed between the pawl and front wall and urges the pawl rearwardly so that the lower edge of the pawl is against the top of the rod 30. The fu1 crum of the pawl 49 is rearward of the lower edge of the pawl for all positions occupied by the pawl, with the effect that.upon forward movement of the pawl housing 28 the pawl tends to dig into the rod 30 and binds it so that the rod has to move forward when the pawl housing does, The pawl 49 and housing 29 comprise, therefore, a clutch that grips the starting rod to feed it forward.

Upon rearward movement of the pawl housing, however, the pawl 49 merely drags'across the top of the rod with what friction is-produced by the weight of the pawl and the pressure of the spring 50. This friction of the pawl on the rod 30 during the rearward or return movement of the pawl housing is not suflicient to move the rod back because it can not overcome the holding force of the brakes 9| and 95.

The length of rod fed forward at each stroke of the pawl housing 29 is substantially equal to the length of the. stroke, there being little or no lost motion while. the pawl 49 grips the rod 30 because the pawl is always in contact with the rod, and the rod is hard enough and slides easily enough so that the pawl does not dig intothe surface of the rod. The screw 44 is adjusted to obtain the.

desired length of feed.

After the rearward end of the rod 39 reaches the forward end of the pawl stroke, the pawl can push the rod no further, but a new length of rod is inserted into the rear rod guide 29 and pawl housing 29 by hand, and as this new length of rod is fed forward by the pawl it pushes the short end of the rod ahead of it. The spring 3| holds the old rod straight in the rod guide I! up until the end of the old rod passes from the rod guide,.

'at which time the old rod has been reduced to an extremely short length. The ,abilityof this invention to use lengths of rod that have become too short for the feed mechanism to operate upon them effects a substantial saving in rods and is one of the advantages of this invention over devices of the prior art.

Wear of the lower end of the pawl 49, and some wear is inevitable after continued use, does not reduce the efliciency of feed mechanism. The

--position of a worn pawl atthe time of binding the rod 30 is somewhat lower than the new pawl,

. but the feeding mechanism does not rely upon a sharp edge on the pawl; surface contact is just as effective as point or line contact. The feeding mechanism of this invention is positive because it relies upon binding or jamming of the rod and not merely upon friction, The fact that the feed remains positive and reliable in spite of wear of the feeding mechanism is another advantage of this invention over prior art devices.

' The lever 4| is rocked clockwise about the pivot 42, to feed the starting rod forward, by a tension member 52. The tension member comprises a rod 59 that telescopes into a sleeve 54. A clamp 55 at one end of the sleeve 54 clamps against the rod 59 and holds the sleeve and rod against movement relative to one another, and provides a convenient means for adjusting the length of the tension member 52.

The rod 99 has. a connecting link 51 at. one end connected with the upper end of the lever 4| by a pin 58. A plunger'rod 69 threads into an enlarged end on the sleeve 54. A head on the plunger rod 80 slides in a plunger rod housing 63 and is urged against the end of the housing by a 5 spring '64 compressed between the head of the plunger rod 6|] and an adjusting screw 55 that threads into the end of the plunger rod housing 63 andcan be screwed in by diiferent amounts to adjust the tension of the spring.

10 A pivot connection'fi'l fastens the end of the plunger rod housing 53 with aclamp 68 that can be adjusted to different positions along an arm 69 extending from the valve. operating lever 20. The travel of the tension member 52 is increased by moving the clamp 68 further down on' the arm 69, that is, further away from the pin 2| about which thevvalve operating lever and its attached arm 69 rock as a center.

The screw 65 is adjusted to produce a tension 20 in the spring 64 sufllcient to permit the tension with the stem l9. With the rod feeding mechanism in its forward position, further movement of the valve-operating lever 20 causes the arm 69 and .plunger rod housing 63 to move without the plunger rod while the adjusting screw compresses the spring 64 to obtain the over-travel. A lug 12 rigidly connected to the ,top ofthetube '24 is held in a clamp," by a bolt 14 that passes through the lug "and the bifurcated ends of the clamp 19. If the bolt 14 is loosened, the

5- rod feeding mechanism supported by the lug 12 t can be turned into various angular positions with respect to the clamp 13.

A bracket 15 clamped to the tubing of the torch H has a stem 16 extending into the upper portion of the clamp I8. Screws I8 draw the upper ends of the clamp 19 together and cause them to grip the stem II. The stem 19 is long enough to.

permit the clamp 19 to be located in a wide range of positions to accommodate the. rod feeding mechanism for all lengths of tips with which it is used. The adjustment of the clamp I3 up and down on the stem 16, combined with the angular adjustment that can be made at the bolt '14.

makes it possible to adjust the rod feeding mecho anism .to feed the rod lil into the region of the heating jets at the most advantageous distance from the end of thedifferent-length tips.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been described; but changes. and modifications 55 can be made and some features of the invention mayjbe used without others.

- I claim:

1. The combination with an oxygen cutting torch having a tip, a valve that controls the supply of cutting oxygen to the tip, and a control handle for operating the valve, of apparatus for feeding a starting rod to the tip including a 3 clutch movable back and forth with a prede- 'termined stroke and constructed and arranged 65 to grip the rod during movement in one direction to advance successive lengths of rod, motion transmitting means connected between said OOH-v trol handle and the clutch, and a yieldable connection in said motion transmitting means ineluding a spring that prevents said connection from. yielding before. the clutch has reached the end of its rod-advancing stroke.

2. An oxygen cutting torch having. a cutting jet orifice and one or more preheating jet oridoes, and including avalve for controlling the supply or cutting oxygen, a control handle movable through a stroke, a valve-operating member in position to be displaced in a direction to open said valve during the latter part; and only'the latter part, of the stroke of the handle in one direction, apparatus for supplying a starting rod to the flames issuing from said preheating jet orifices, said apparatus comprising a seriesof connected movable elements that are actuated from said control handle and that transmit motion from the control handle to the starting rod,

- said movable elements including a reciprocating device that advances the starting rod, and an abutment in the path of one of said movable elements for preventing actuation of the reciprocating device to advance the starting rod during the latter part of the stroke of the control.

handle.

3. An oxygen cutting torch having a cutting jet orifice and one or more preheating jet orifices, and including a valve for controlling the supply of cutting oxygen, a control handle move able through a stroke, a valve-operating member in position to be displaced in a direction to open said valve during the latter partQand only the latter part, of thestroke of the handle in one direction, apparatus for supplying a starting'rod device, an element between the i'eedi'ngdevice and the bracket, a connection joining said element and the bracket, and another connection'joining said element and the feeding device, one of said connections being. slidably adjustable and the other angularly adjustable. r

'1. The combination'of an oxygen cutting torch having'ahandle for operating the cutting oxygen supply v'alve, a starting rod reeding device, bracketmeans connecting the starting rod feed device with the torch, said bracket means being adjustable to change the position of the feed device with respect, to the torch to accommodate the teeddevice to the length of the torch tip, and motion transmitting connections by which the handle that operates the cutting oxygen supply valve also operates the rod feed vdevice, said connections including parts that are relatively ad-' justable to compensate for changes in the position'of the rod feed device. I

8. The combination of a cutting torch having a cutting oxygen supply valve, a starting rod teed Y device, an abutment limiting the movement 01' to the flames issuing from said preheating jet orifices; said apparatus comprising a series oi connected movable elements that are actuated from said control handle and'that transmit inc-- tion irom the control handle to the starting rod,

'said movable elements including a reciprocating device that advances the starting rod, an abutment in the path of one of said movable'elements for preventing actuation of the reciprocating device to advance the starting rod during the latter part of the stroke oi the control handle, and a spring that reacts against one oi. the

movable elements for causing that element to' transmit motion from the control handle to the reciprocating device, said spring being in position to yield after the abutment stops further movement of the reciprocating device.

4. In cutting apparatus comprisinga torch that has preheating jet orifices, a cutting oxygen supply valve, and means for feedingastarting rod to the preheating jets before the cuttingoxygen valve is opened, the improvement which comprises a common lever for operating both the feeding means and the oxygen'supply valve, a motion transmitting member between the rod feeding means and said lever, and connecting means between said member and said lever movable along said lever toward and from the fulcrum of the lever to control the amount of travel said feed device, a common operating handle for the valve and feed device, motion-transmitting means including elements connected between the operating handle and feed device, and a spring that reacts against anelement of said, motiontransmitti'n'g means for causing that element to transmit motion from the handle to the feed device, said spring being in position to yield so that v I a portion or the motion-transmitting means con-- nected with the handle can continue to move after the reed device has come against the..-abutment and the portion or the motion-transmitting means connected with said lead device can move no further,

.9. In a cutting'to'rch having a valve, a valveoperating lever, and a{ starting rod feeddevice,

the improvement that, comprises apparatus for causing successive operation of the feed device and valve, said apparatus including motion-transmitting means between the valve-operating lever and the rod feed device for operating said device to feed the rod during the initial movement oi the lever in one direction, an abutment in the path of one of the elements that is moved by said initial movement-oi. the lever for preventing or the motion transmitting member for a given angular movement of the lever.

5. The combination in an oxygen cutting torchv of a starting rod feed apparatus including a reciprocating device that during its forward stroke grips the rod, an adjustable abutment for limiting the stroke of said device to control the length of rod fed at each stroke, a handle that controls the supply of cutting oxygen for the torch, and motion transmitting means by which the rod feeding apparatus is operated by said handle, including connecting means located on the handle and movable into different positions on the handle to change the travel of said motion transmitting means for a givenmovement ofthe handle. 6. A startingrod attachment including a.

bracket for connection with a cutting torch, a

rod feeding device including guides holding the rod in ailxed angular relation in the feeding" the feed. device from operating during further movement of the lever in the same direction, the motion-transmitting means including a connection constructed and arranged to yield during said further movement of the valve-operating lever, and a spring for preventing the connection from yielding during said initial movement of thevalve-operating lever.

10. Apparatus for feeding a starting rod to the tip ofan o y en cutting torch including a container having a rigid bearing surface that is parallel to the direction in which the starting rod is fed and means for connecting said container to the cutting torch, a housing in said container movable to and fro along said bearing surfaceot j g the container andheld in line with the starting rod by said. bearing surface so that said housing has a straight-line reciprocating motion, and

clutch means" in said housing adapted to cause the rod to move with the housing during the movement of the housing in one direction along said surface.

11. Apparatus for feeding a starting rod to the tip of an oxygen cutting torch including a container with means for connecting it to the cutting torch, a reciprocating clutch means within the container and through which the starting rod passes, said clutch means being constructed and arranged to grip clutch means in one direction, and feed adjusting means for controlling the length of rod advanced by the clutch means, said feed adjusting means including an element threading through an end of s id container into the path of the reciprocating clutch means and extending in the direction of movement of said clutch means so that the end of said element serves as an adjustable abutment for limiting the stroke of the reciprocating movement of the clutch means.

12. Apparatus for feeding a starting rod to the tip of an oxygen cutting torch including a stationary container with means for rigidly connecting it to the cutting torch, clutch means located inside of said stationary container and movable back and forth on a bearing surface within said container and adapted to grip the rod during movement of said clutch means in one direction,'a guide through which the starting rod passes, and a brake element supported by said container and movable with respect to the container and guide into friction contact with the starting rod.

13. In an oxygen cutting torch, an apparatus for feeding a starting rod to the tip of the torch including a block with an opening through which the starting rod passes, means for causing the block to move toward and from the tip, and an element carried by the block in continuous contact with the rod and movable with respect to the block to clamp said rod against movement relative to the block when the block moves toward the tip. v

14. Apparatus for feeding a starting rod to a cutting torch comprising a container fastened to the cutting torch, said container including guides through which the rod passes, a block slidable in the container and having an opening through which the rod passes, a pawl carried by the block in position to jam the rod against the side of the opening and prevent relative movement of the rod and block when the block moves in one dithe rod during movement of the rection,

and brake means for holding the rod stationary when the block moves in the other direction. I

15. An attachment for an oxygen cutting torch .including an element through which'a. starting rod is advanced to the region of the torch tip, a feeding device movable to and fro and constructed and arranged to grip the rod when mov-- ing in one direction only, and motion transmitting connections for operating the feeding device including a lost-motion connection of such a nature that a part of the motion transmitting connections can continue to move after the feeding device reaches the limit-0f its movement.

16'. An attachment .fcr an oxygemcutting torch including an element through which a starting rod is advanced to the region of the torch tip, a feeding device movable to and fro and constructed and arranged to grip the rod when moving in. one direction only, motion-transmitting means for actuating the feeding device from a manuallyoperated lever, and a spring associated with said motion-transmitting means and reacting to cause motion of the lever to be transmitted to the feeding device until said feeding device reaches its limit of movement, said spring being constructed and arranged to yield as the manually-operated lever moves further after the feeding device has reached its limit of movement.

1'7. In cutting apparatus including a starting rod feed device with clutch means that moves to and fro and advances the starting rod toward the tip of a cutting torch during the forward movement of said clutch means, the improvement of a rod guide located between the clutch .means and the tip, and extending close tothe region of the tip to provide a support for the short end of starting rodafter said starting rod has advanced beyond the forward limit of the travel of the clutch means, and spring means for holding a short end of a starting rod straight in said guide but free to move in response to pressure from a new length of rod behind it.

GEORGE L. WALKER. 

